I understand your apprehention. Once again, the human race's propensity to stereotype rears its ugly head. When someone hears the term "Open Carrier", the image of a slightly overweight, midle aged, white guy pops into almost 100% of folks minds. This is because the sheer majority of OC'ers fit right into that demographic.
When confronted with things that are outside of the nice little box people have made to put them in, many folks get uncomfortable. ANY OC'er is familiar with this. Folks are accustomed to civilians who are unarmed just like them. When encountering a person who is lawfully armed, it doesn't fit into the category of "normal" that people have constructed, therefore, it often makes them jumpy, nervous, and irritable. It requires the general public to do something it finds distasteful: THINK. People who walk around in condition white hate to be brought out of their self imposed oblivion and troubled with the process of conscious thought.
It's shameful, but having dark skin only compounds this tendency. The term "guy carrying a gun" brings up visions of cowboy hat wearing John Wayne types. (I don't know an OC'er who hasn't been snidely called a John Wayne wannabe by those uncomfortable with OC.) When you add another variable that doesn't fit into the public's predisposed notion of a "guy carrying a gun", it really throws them for a loop. Now you have a "black man with a gun". Lookout. Now you don't fit into the box labled "normal everyday unarmed person", and you don't fit into "typical white John Wayne wannabe", either. You become "black man with a gun".
The general public has very little experience with dark skinned people who are responsibly armed. When folks hear "black man with a gun", the box they choose to open contains visions of gold chain wearing, oversized basketball jersey, sagging pants grasping, gang bangers with a glock tucked into their waistband. Stereotypical? You bet. It's what the oblivious public chooses to do instead of think.
How do we change this misperception? The only way I know to counteract a stereotype is to jump out of the box people place you in. We need ALL kinds of people to represent the ALL kinds of people we truly are. Carrying a firearm for self defense is for EVERYONE. We need more minorities to be SEEN exercising that right. In my local gathering of OC'ers, we have a very diverse crowd. We've got a Native American, an Asian, and a woman in addition to the numerous middle aged white guys. It makes me feel good to be a part of such a diverse group.
I know that having darker skin will lead to folks being more uncomfortable with you carrying a firearm. I believe it's probably due to lack of positive examples. I see many black people in gun stores I frequent, so I know there is a HUGE population of responsible black gun owners that exist. The problem is with their "visibility". How can they set an example if they are not seen? They aren't seen because of their apprehention about the possible negative reactions by the oblivious general public that refuses to think. If you let yourself be deterred from OC'ing because of the negative consequences, all it will do is leave the negative examples to reinforce these pointless and incorrect stereotypes.
I have a lot of respect for the very few black OC'ers I have ever encoutered. Their choice to represent their demographic of the wide range of gun owners is commendable. The guy who slung the AR over his shoulder at that rally in Arizona overturned many people's boxes. We're all in the same boat on this one. Black, white, male, or female.....we all face the scrutiny of an uncomfortable public. It's a shame that some of us face deeper scrutiny because of the color of our skin, but I think you'll have no lack of support from fellow gun owners.
Open Carry is truly for everyone. We need more minorities to help combat the stereotypes dividing open carriers within our own ranks without mentioning the stereotypes dividing open carriers from the general public. I don't think you'll receive as much grief from folks as you might anticipate. I think fellow gun owners and concealed carriers will be much more accepting than you think. Conversely, I think the uninformed general public will be a little more uncomfortable than encountering we "John Wayne wannabe's". I hope the few negatives fail to dissuade you from taking part in an activity that would provide everyone with something rare and underappreciated: A black man being seen responsibly and lawfully carrying a firearm. Will you get harsh looks? Probably. We all do. Will the cops harrass you? Maybe. It happens to many of us. Hopefully, you'll choose to toss your apprehention of these occurrences out the window. It's a personal choice leading to possible consequences. As the general public has learned, making conscious decisions often makes one uncomfortable. I, for one, hope you join us. You're always welcome to come to St. Louis and have a Starbucks coffee with the Open Carry crowd here!